26 September, 2011

Running and a Few Thoughts

For the past two months I've been training for a half-marathon.  And when I say "training" what I really mean is "have a schedule mapped out but have all of that interrupted due to an unexpected deployment, school and illness running mad through our house."

As of Friday morning I was not going to run.  That was until I saw my friend at the gym and told her I wasn't going to do it and she told me, "Quit whining."  Huh.  I never really considered it whining, but I definitely was.  So I wrangled together some last minute help and  had less than 48 hours to mentally and physically prepare myself.  Awesome. 

Fast-forward to Sunday morning at 5:00 am.  Here we are, the dynamic trio and the ginger.  (I love you, Teej!)  You know how to tell if someone loves you?  They get up in the wee hours to help.  Some even take the time to actually get ready and make the rest of us feel bad.  I won't use her real name.  Shmary Shanne.  



I don't really feel like breaking it completely down, because... I'm lazy.  So here's a list of random tidbits from the morning.

-Mary Anne felt it necessary to nearly kill us on the car ride downtown.
-She also offered to stretch me in inappropriate ways.  
-I met a girl named Megan at the start line with a husband named Justin.  We ended up finding each other at Mile 10, and she finished just minutes behind me.
-A woman I was waiting in line for the potty with at mile 1.5 said, "That guy had better not be dropping a deuce in there."  I asked her if we could be BFFs.
-While running through a condemned neighborhood a woman stood on her porch and yelled, "Good morning!  Welcome to my home!"  Little did she know all I could think about was how fast I could get out of there.  It smelt like poop.
-Speaking of, I saw 3 runners come popping out of a tree line.  You really couldn't hold it?
-Mary Anne spanked me as I ran by at mile 6.
-At Mile 8, I think, we were climbing a second GIANT hill and I said, "This is dumb."  But I realized that even if I quit I'd still have to get back to my ride, so I might as well run.
-At Mile 12 I was back in the heart of downtown and could hear the crowd screaming for finishers.  I got chills.
-At that same mile my stomach started to growl.  My motivation was no longer just to finish, but to eat.
-Mary Anne was waiting at the front of the last stretch.  She told me my babies were waiting for me at the finish line and she had donuts.  Yep.  I can do this.  Especially if I get a donut.
-I round the last turn and I saw Whit, TJ, and the kids.  Tears were ever present.  
-A Marine gave me my medal.  I'm pretty sure I just said, "felkwjarinvdsakshhh."
-Before M.A. got to me I had finished a banana, orange, cup of soup, and was polishing off a bagel.  Told you I was hungry.
-I walked a total of just over 5 minutes of the whole race.  Granted I am sure some people could walk faster than I was running at some points, but still.
-I woke up today feeling and looking like an ogre.  My shins and feet locked up so I had to shuffle around the house like I left the tag that holds your shoes together at the store on.

But most importantly, I did it.  I was slow, and that's okay.  


I thought for sure I would be dead last.  I thought that they were going to shut down the course and I would still be out there, lost.  As it turns out, LOTS of people were taking their time.  And I mean, really taking their time.  I wasn't last, and I am plenty happy with that.  Next time I'll go for time.  For now, I'd really just like to go lay in a tub of Ben Gay.

3 comments:

  1. I am so proud of you. You may just be my hero. And also my inspiration. Tha k you for sharing your experiences.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am only mentioned once in this post! I'm pissed! ;)

    ReplyDelete

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